[classicman]

The chief U.S. oversight official for offshore oil drilling resigned today, four weeks after a rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers, sank the vessel and triggered leaks that have spewed millions of gallons of crude into the sea.

Chris Oynes, associate director of the offshore energy and minerals management program for the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service, has left his job, Bill Lee, an agency spokesman, said in an interview.

Oynes left amid heightened scrutiny of the rigorousness of rig-safety inspections and mounting criticism of what U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican, described as the agency’s “too cozy” relationship with the energy industry.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced plans last week to split the minerals service into separate agencies with safety and revenue-collecting duties. The minerals agency is the largest source of U.S. Treasury funds behind the Internal Revenue Service, generating about $13 billion a year.

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